Cheap UK pallet services

Pallet delivery plays an increasingly vital role in the distribution of goods, both UK wide and throughout Europe. For many retail and manufacturing businesses, especially those operating on a ‘just in time’ principle, reliable, cost effective pallet deliveries are imperative to their companies success.

Although the delivery of palletised freight has traditionally been seen as a business to business service, in recent years there has been a growth in demand for cheap pallet deliveries from companies supplying the consumer sector, driven largely by ebay and the proliferation of online businesses providing UK wide distribution of goods which are too large to be delivered as parcels; as such this guide is aimed towards helping the first time user of pallet services better understand the different solutions available and the key considerations to bear in mind when using pallet companies to deliver their goods.

Deciding between a pallet courier or a dedicated service when arranging the shipping of your pallets

When arranging the pallet shipping throughout the UK and Europe there are effectively two main delivery options to consider: A network of independent pallet couriers or a dedicated pallet distribution service. Deciding which one to opt for will depend upon a number of factors including the number of pallets that need shipping, the urgency of delivery, the location of the collection point and where they have to be delivered to once collected.

Dedicated pallet distribution companies

Dedicated pallet distribution is essentially when the same logistics company is responsible for both collecting and delivering your pallets. They will come to your warehouse, or distribution depot, load the palletised goods onto their vehicle and ship them directly to the destination point without the involvement of third party distributors.

One of the benefits of a dedicated pallet shipping service is that as the pallets are only being handled once the risk of damage is greatly reduced. This kind of service is beneficial for European pallet delivery, when dealing with potential breakages and returns can be particularly problematic. A dedicated service is also cost effective when organising the shipment of full loads due to the economies of scale that the logistics company can deliver. For part loads, or single pallet shipments depending upon the pallet sizes a more cost effective solution is to use a pallet courier network.

Using a network of independent pallet delivery companies

A pallet network is essentially a group of independent pallet delivery companies who are able to channel their resources via the internet in a similar way to parcel operators so as to be able to offer national, and in some cases European pallet delivery services.

By pooling their resources each company is able to offer a wide range of different delivery options to suit the needs of the individual customer; so whether you require a next day, or economy service, a vehicle with a tail lift, or a driver and forklift truck to handle your deliveries, pallet courier services offer a greater degree of flexibility compared to a dedicated service.

One potential disadvantage of using a network collection service is that your pallets can be handled several times during the transit period which can significantly increase the risk of damage; because of this it is imperative that you pay particular attention to the way in which the goods are palletised and ensure that they are sufficiently insured in the event of any damage caused by the courier whilst the pallet is being delivered.

How DeliveryQuotecompare.com can drive down your pallet shipping costs

Once you’ve decided upon the type of service you require DeliveryQuoteCompare.com can help save you time and money by driving down the cost of your pallet delivery with our innovative online pallet price calculator. Using our quick quote form simply enter details on the number of pallets you need to ship and receive instant prices on a range of different services from economy (2-3 days), to next day, as well as timed and Saturday am delivery rates.

By working in partnership with over 200 independent pallet haulage companies DeliveryQuoteCompare.com is best placed to help drive down your pallet shipping costs with some of the cheapest delivery options available online.

Booking the collection and delivery of your pallet online

Using the internet can save a lot of time and effort, however to avoid disappointment when booking your online collection there are a number of considerations that you need to be aware of to prevent any costly delays to the delivery. First of all you need to ensure that the goods are correctly packaged and secured to the pallet using shrink wrap and polypropylene strapping; if your pallet isn’t correctly packaged the delivery company has the right to refuse collection; this will be recorded as a failed collection attempt and will be charged for by the company.

The second consideration to be aware of when arranging the delivery of a pallet online is to ensure that there is sufficient vehicle access for loading and off loading. The smallest vehicle used for the delivery of your pallets will be a 7.5 tonne lorry, similar in size to a dustbin lorry. If your collection or delivery point is down a narrow road check with the pallet collection company to ensure that there is sufficient access according to the dimensions of the vehicle.

You also need to ensure that you have made provisions to load and off load the pallet. If you do not have a fork lift truck to load the pallet on to the collection vehicle make sure that you select the tail lift option when booking online. This essentially means that the vehicle despatched to collect and deliver your pallet will have a tail lift; the driver will then be able to place your pallet on to the hydraulic lift before loading on to the vehicle. If you require this option you must ensure that the loading area is free of gravel as the driver will use a pump truck to move the pallet from the collection point on to the tail lift.

Other delivery options when shipping your pallets

As well as instant online pallet quotes you can also post your requirements on to our freight transportation marketplace to receive bids from registered pallet shipping companies who will submit tailored quotes for your shipment. This is ideal for less urgent consignments. The way it works is simple: once posted to our marketplace your requirement becomes visible to thousands of registered transport companies who then submit bids to fulfil the job. It works like a reverse auction in that all of the individual pallet delivery companies can see what the other company has bid resulting in some highly competitive prices.

Whatever your requirements remember that all quotes are submitted free of charge and without any obligation to accept, so rather than waste time and money when organising the delivery of your pallets, simply click on the button below and start comparing cheap pallet delivery quotes today!